Dante smiled as he watched her think. Amber looked at him, her heart filled with curiosity. Clenching her hands, she asked, almost unable to believe that someone who had been labelled useless and accused of disgracing a Legendary-tier skill could even ask such a question.
"Do you mean... I can use a skill?"
Dante nodded.
"First, try to remember a skill from an Epic-tier user, or maybe a low-level Legendary-tier user. You're only Level 16, so don't go beyond that. In fact, just use an Epic-tier skill you've seen before and whose mana you've unconsciously absorbed. Try to unwind the threads, then weave them back together."
Amber nodded and immediately tried. Several minutes later, she slowly shook her head. Disappointment threatened to appear on her face, but Dante's calm expression kept her steady.
Lexa, watching from the side, couldn't help but see a small part of herself in Amber. She smiled as she remembered the times she thought she had disappointed Dante.
'Master's laziness, his calmness, his indifference — they always brought peace. Because beneath all of that was unmistakable confidence.'
'That confidence in himself makes you have confidence in yourself since he chose you'
That confidence was exactly what Amber felt as Dante explained.
"A skill can't simply be copied unless you possess a skill specifically capable of doing that. Right now, you're doing exactly what those useless idiots who taught you tried to do."
He pointed lazily at her. "You're trying to use a skill outside your own ability. Stop trying to copy it. Understand your own skill. Use what it can do. You have complete control over mana. Have some confidence in that shit."
He then pointed to his head.
"Think of a new one. And use Calibration to balance it."
Amber nodded slowly. Originally, she had planned to simply recreate an existing Epic-tier skill. But Dante's lazy expression — one that somehow looked far more interested in caressing Vexion's outer thigh than whether Amber succeeded or failed — made her unexpectedly chuckle.
'He's so unconcerned about whether I fail... No — he already knows I can do it.'
She remembered what Lexa had told her when they first met. "Master called you a great find."
'I'll try to live up to his expectations.'
Taking a deep breath filled with newfound confidence, Amber thought back to a skill she had once witnessed.
It belonged to someone only around Level 10, yet it had left quite an impression on her. Chain Manipulation.
A simple Epic-tier ability.
It allowed its user to create and manipulate chains from existing matter or directly from raw mana.
Amber carefully examined the structure. She tried to unwind it. Then recreate it. Then alter it into something entirely new.
Several minutes passed.
....
Nothing.
Dante chuckled. Amber opened her eyes.
"You're trying to brute-force it. Your skill is amazing. So think. What do you actually have inside you?"
Amber frowned. She had no idea where he was going with this. Before she could answer, Vexion spoke instead.
"From what Master explained, you have an absurd amount of mana. But you can't use it. That doesn't make sense."
Amber instinctively wanted to agree. 'Exactly. That's been my problem my entire life.'
But Dante clearly knew something she didn't.
Vexion continued thinking aloud.
"A Legendary skill shouldn't be this... incomplete."
Dante smiled. 'Vexion really is constantly growing'.
He deliberately remained silent, allowing Lexa, Elric, and Amber to continue thinking for themselves.
All three frowned. None of them could connect the dots.
Vexion placed a finger against her chin, thinking deeply. Dante gave her another small hint.
"You've spent twenty-three years absorbing mana. Yet your body hasn't exploded. Your blood vessels haven't ruptured. Your heart hasn't burst. Why?"
Vexion rubbed her forehead in annoyance before her eyes suddenly widened.
"...Because the skill isn't storing mana for power. It's storing—" She hesitated. "—information?"
Dante smiled and gently corrected her.
"No. Not information. Possibilities."
Vexion's eyes brightened. Amber, Lexa, and Elric all felt something click inside their minds, yet they still couldn't quite reach the answer. The pieces were beginning to fit together.
Vexion spoke again.
"Mana isn't just energy. Every skill is built from mana. Every spell. Every technique. Every ability. Every single one leaves behind a structure."
She slowly turned towards Amber.
"Your Archive isn't a simple reservoir. It's a library."
Amber's heartbeat quickened. A library...?
She immediately looked inward once more. An endless ocean of mana. Limitless. Chaotic. Stretching beyond what she could comprehend.
Dante chuckled.
"You idiot. You spent twenty-three years staring at the walls of a library filled with books. Books that teach every possible structure a skill can have. Yet you never once opened one."
Lexa's eyes suddenly widened.
"I understand..."
Everyone looked towards her.
"She doesn't understand enemy mana. She understands her own."
Elric slowly looked at Amber as realization finally struck him.
"Your own mana can never harm you. You could study it forever. No matter how strange, how dense, or how impossibly complex those structures look — they're already yours."
Amber immediately looked inward once more, studying her own mana.
One minute. Two minutes. Three. Ten minutes. Within those ten minutes alone, she had already understood billions of different structures, and yet she knew she wasn't anywhere near the end.
However, she could feel it — her mind was beginning to understand how to weaponize the mana she possessed.
She turned her focus towards the mana structure of the skill 'Chain Manipulation'. Suddenly it became easier. Her eyes snapped open.
Chains, forged from seemingly impossibly hardened mana, burst forth into existence.
Tears streamed down her face.
With nothing more than a thought, the chains obeyed her will.
However, because she was still unfamiliar with controlling them, they whipped wildly throughout the room like violent storms.
Amber could no longer hold back her tears.
Elric bit his lip, his heart filled with both disbelief and overwhelming joy. Amber dismissed the chains.
Then summoned them again.
Again.
And again.
Each attempt became smoother than the last.
She slowly turned towards Dante.
"My Lord... I can use a skill."
Dante chuckled.
"Congratulations."
Lexa smiled. Amber's reaction reminded her far too much of herself — the joy of becoming stronger, the joy of escaping a fate you once believed unavoidable.
'Master always does this.'
Amber suddenly threw herself into Elric's arms. Laughing through her tears, she hugged him tightly.
Elric laughed as well, lifting her into the air and spinning her around the spacious living room.
Dante gently placed a finger beneath Vexion's chin, turning her face towards him. She looked at him curiously.
Without warning, his lips met hers.
Vexion blushed, her eyes softly closing. For a brief moment, they simply shared the kiss before Dante slowly pulled away.
"That's your reward. You didn't fail me as my Number One."
Vexion's cheeks burned crimson. Part of her wished the kiss had lasted longer.
But she kept those thoughts to herself. The familiar reminder of her Master's affection pressing against her ass was already more than enough to leave her completely satisfied.
Several minutes later, Amber and Elric composed themselves. Without hesitation, both dropped to one knee, one hand resting over their chests as they bowed their heads.
"My Lord."
Lexa quietly stood. She walked to Dante's left side, stopping in her usual position before bowing as well.
Watching them, Vexion smiled. She naturally stood up and moved to Dante's right side — her place, the place she intended to occupy for the rest of her life.
Hands folded neatly before her stomach, she lowered her head.
Dante smiled. At that exact moment, his Loyal Subordinate Bestowal skill notified him.
"Four subordinates. Loyalty has exceeded ninety percent. Skill—"
He stopped reading. That alone was enough.
The four spoke together.
"This subordinate greets my Lord and Master."
Dante grinned.
Amber and Elric raised their heads.
Something had changed. The loyalty burning within them was nowhere near the fanaticism of Lexa or Vexion. But it was real.
They were willing to risk their lives for his name, for his honour, for the future he promised.
Lexa looked at Dante. The reverence in her eyes
....
....slowly disappeared.
She sighed.
"..."
Then pinched the bridge of her nose.
Vexion's face instantly turned scarlet.
She quietly swallowed. Amber and Elric merely stared, completely frozen.
Dante had leaned back against the couch, utterly relaxed, one arm resting across the backrest, his legs spread comfortably apart.
And before the four of them, the Sword of Justice once again threatened to leave its sheath, in other words his pants.
"..."
"..."
Dante frowned.
"What?"